Downtime - What do you do?

derais3480 · 2013-08-23T14:56:19.000Z

So, I’m the only system administrator (Or any source of IT knowledge at all, basically) for two companies, about 100 people. I’m young, and my boss has asked that I refrain from making massive changes to the domain, which makes sense to a point, from their POV. That being said, I don’t have much to do when I’m not being accosted by Users. What do you guys do in your down time?

ajstringham · 2013-08-23T14:58:39.000Z

Spend it on Spiceworks! Study for new projects! There is plenty to do to advance yourself!

Thanks,

A.J.

jamesallen13 · 2013-08-23T15:00:06.000Z

If I’m awake enough, I like to study for certifications.

jarrod · 2013-08-23T15:03:10.000Z

Down time? Whats that? Is that that mythical time between fixing issues and sleeping?

jcotton5 · 2013-08-23T15:04:55.000Z

set yourself up a test machine to play around on, always good to try new things out and just click around. Especially when it doesnt matter if you mess it up, Im currently running SpiceWorks 7 on a test machine to try some new settings and other ish out. other than that, maybe start teaching yourself to draw caricatures?

sally7727 · 2013-08-23T15:07:57.000Z

Setup contingency planning, document, do the things you wouldn’t normally have time to do. Anything to make your job and your clients more efficient.

kstewart · 2013-08-23T15:11:23.000Z

Unless I have something big to study for, I chase users and make them more effective. Spending three hours and saving the service coordinator 300 hours a year by “automating” repetitive tasks can look good on your review. You also learn more about how your business works and what your people do, which can make you a more valuable resource.

Example, I accosted a user this morning out of nowhere, spent 5 minutes and saved them about 58 hours per year they did not know they were wasting.

Edit: I do not really have downtime anymore, but it is a great value so I still force time for it.

josh-your-it-guy · 2013-08-23T15:28:57.000Z

Sleeping? Whats that? Is that that mythical time between fixing issues and crashing?

frankclough4182 · 2013-08-23T16:11:20.000Z

Get a VMWare server up and running and play around with new software of technologies!

Bud-G · 2013-08-23T17:22:57.000Z

Hang out on the Spiceworks forums…

gavinscactus · 2013-08-23T20:18:23.000Z

Bud G.:

Hang out on the Spiceworks forums…

This!

nick42 · 2013-08-23T21:28:07.000Z

JRC:

Down time? Whats that? Is that that mythical time between fixing issues and sleeping?

He already said he’s young. So those 10-30 second bursts of silence are considered “downtime.”

Thpfft.

NetworkNerd · 2013-08-25T17:58:22.000Z

Look at ways you can make your network better. Is it time to bring in better wireless access points that you can manage centrally? Is it time to go virtual? Could you save the company money by moving toward an open source or hosted PBX and VOIP? Have you read The Practice of System and Network Administration or any other books by Tom Limoncelli?

Consider a TrainSIgnal account. For $49 / month, you can take online training for all kinds of new software / operating systems.

edt · 2013-08-26T15:42:28.000Z

Read Spiceworks.

Document.

Study.

Read interesting system admin books.

Practice writing scripts.

rk00421 · 2013-08-26T15:47:22.000Z

Nick42:

JRC:

Down time? Whats that? Is that that mythical time between fixing issues and sleeping?

He already said he’s young. So those 10-30 second bursts of silence are considered “downtime.”

Thpfft.

Is that a comment on someone’s attention span?

swearyprincess · 2013-08-27T07:04:59.000Z

cnk1:

Unless I have something big to study for, I chase users and make them more effective. Spending three hours and saving the service coordinator 300 hours a year by “automating” repetitive tasks can look good on your review. You also learn more about how your business works and what your people do, which can make you a more valuable resource.

Example, I accosted a user this morning out of nowhere, spent 5 minutes and saved them about 58 hours per year they did not know they were wasting.

Damn right, I love automating things - then when someone says they don’t have time to do a simple thing that’d make my life easier, I can tell them that’s a lie as I just saved them X hours a week

ryan-campy · 2013-08-27T08:35:21.000Z

Read, Mainly through spiceworks

stables2511 · 2013-08-27T13:21:59.000Z

use your time wisely and work out the best way to tell your boss you need an assistant to help with your workload lol that way you can spend more time of spiceworks

jackiebt · 2013-08-27T16:36:27.000Z

I make lists of all the things I want to do during downtime and free time! Then when I have down time, I have lots to keep me busy. I can’t stand sitting and watching the clock. So boring!

jimmy-t · 2013-09-12T17:57:57.000Z

I either read or manage two different Minecraft servers. I go home to manage a whole different set of users, heh.